Conservationists launch battle of the Coral Sea

By Lariss Dubecki

September 17, 2007 — 10.00am

THE Great Barrier Reef marine park would triple in size to encompass the entire Coral Sea under a plan to protect one of Australia's last tropical ocean wildernesses.

The campaign to create the world's largest marine park, to be launched today by the conservation organisation WWF, aims to protect the abundant shark populations and marine diversity of the Coral Sea, which comprises 780,000 square kilometres bordering the Great Barrier Reef.

The area, a new global diving hot-spot now worth more than $11 million a year in tourism, is under threat due to pollution and illegal fishing to satisfy the market for shark fin.

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The area has also been earmarked for potential oil and gas exploration.

WWF marine scientist Gilly Llewellyn said the area was unique for its coral atolls and diverse fish species.

The influential Forbes magazine last month declared the Coral Sea among the top 10 global diving destinations.

"The Coral Sea is the new jewel in global dive tourism because it's one of the few places you can still see large shark populations," Dr Llewellyn said.

"It's a different kind of system to the Great Barrier Reef because it's got these underwater mountains that come out of the surface from really deep water. It brings the deep ocean predators into the system."

A spokesman for Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull said an advisory council to the Marine and Tropical Sciences Research Facility had been established to assess environmental priorities for the region.

While not overtly endorsing the plan, shadow environment minister Peter Garrett said the Coral Sea had great environmental importance.

"Like the Great Barrier Reef, our greatest natural treasure, it should be cherished, and serious attention needs to be given to consider better protecting its environmental values in future," he said.

The WWF campaign received a boost from the recent APEC summit, which endorsed the Coral Triangle Initiative to safeguard the depleted marine resources of the wider Indo-Pacific region in its Declaration on Climate Change, Energy Security and Clean Development.

"The Coral Sea is one of the few places left that is virtually intact and pristine," Dr Llewellyn said. "It may be that in the larger system, helping to protect the Coral Sea could protect the Coral Triangle."